Tiong Bahru Market is often associated with good food, and stalls obviously want to put in “Tiong Bahru” into their stall names for two reasons; first they are really the original stalls from the old Tiong Bahru, or they probably added in to give the impression that they are “old name” when they are actually not.
What’s the difference between curry noodle and laksa? Actually I’m not quite sure myself too, but i guess the obvious differences are their ingredients, curry noodles has chicken, potatoes which are not found in laksa.
Curry Noodle ($3) The curry noodle was decent, with a rather generous serving of shreded chicken, tau pok, and potatoes. But it still can’t beat the famous one at Hong Lim food centre though. Besides curry chicken noodle, they also got quite a variety of other chicken dishes like lemon chicken rice and curry chicken feet.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
I have been looking for nice kway chap for a while now, but I can’t seem to find them though.My latest hunt brought me to Tiong Bahru Market, a quick glance around resulted in two stores selling kway chap, and i chose this store over the other because this store had a slightly longer queue than the other on that day.
On a personal note, I felt that kway chap stalls does not usually have a standard rate, the charges are to their discretion and can differ on a rather wide range. I’m not saying all kuay chap stalls do that, but obviously there will be some rouge stalls around.
The kway (rice noodle sheet) was a tad too thick for my liking, and i found the soup average.
Kway Chap ($4 for one person serving)
For a person serving at $4, there’s one whole egg, taupok, and pig intestines. Even though the portion should suffice for a person, but i found the variety rather miserable, there’s no pork belly, no small intestines, no duck meat no beancurd, you know the usual stuff for kway chap.
Of course there is, but you just have to pay more for more variety. That’s why i say $4 can’t really get you much for kway chap. Nevertheless they did a passable kway chap, but there isn’t the “oomph” factor to make me try them again. Probably will test out the other kway chap stall in Tiong Bahru Market the next time round.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) is the first museum in the region to present a broad yet integrated perspective of pan-Asian cultures and civilisations. The Museum's collection centres on the material cultures of the different groups originating from China, Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia.
I was privileged to have been able to join a guided tour by one of the curators at ACM. If you're planning a visit to the museum, I strongly recommend to join the guided tours by the volunteers.
The visit to the museum had been quite an experience for me. Before the tour, I thought museums are rather boring. But when I participated in the tour and had a better understanding of the history and stories behind the things around the museum, it was quite a discovery adventure.
If you've never been into the Asian Civilisations Museum before, why not spend a day there exploring? If you would like to really absorb all the content there, I would suggest you split your visits to a few trips. If not, you might just get too tired after exploring and absorbing just one section of the museum. As the curator suggested, don't go to the museum and wants to see everything there in one visit. One should find a focus for that day and just spend enough time to complete touring that section for that day.
Oh by the way, if you are unable to join the guided tours, there's always the self-guided tour guides around the museum to help you. There are many computer guides around where they can share the interesting things within their section.
Attached is a video compilation of few things I saw at ACM. And find out about a cute and interesting cup and listen to the curator share why the cup is interesting! :)
You can also read more about the interesting finds I saw during my tour around the museum at my blog.
Fig and Olive is one of the few halal certified restaurant in Singapore. This place is nicely renovated and clean. A nice place for gatherings and events.
I went there twice, once for a meal and the other for an event. The food I had on my first trip was not that good except for the fries... Marinara Pasta @ $15.90 Not one of the better but still passable pasta. The sauce was served a little dry and the seafood tasted dry too.
Criss-cut fries was fried right and tasted crispy. The serving was quite big and I recommend to share it with few other friends. Unless you're having it on your own.
Food for the event was better than my first meal there. The variety was good and the overall taste and flavor was much better.
I may return to give them another chance since the two visits gave quite a big difference in quality.
Anyone else tried the place? What's your thoughts?
Wasn't easy to find this shop. This shop was hidden in an "ulu" lane near Bugis and I was hot and sweaty all over when I reached the shop.
The interior of this shop was beautiful and unique. I enjoyed browsing at the things sold inside.
There was beautiful shoes, bags, and some accessories inside which were quite cute.
Price was not cheap....
I did not manage to buy the shoes I wanted because even the largest size was too small for me. I think it was the cutting. Too bad. Would be good if they had bigger sizes.
Not really keen to go back again because of it's location...
Had a dinner there with my family and we all enjoyed the meal very much.
It was crowded that evening but the waiters and waitresses were all very very polite. The service was excellent.
The hot chinese tea served was nice, and all dishes were quite delicious as well. Price was reasonable for a restaurant like this.
Herbal roast duck:
Fragrant and tender meat. Tasty.
'Dong Po' pork:
My father liked it alot. I am not a fan of pork but I liked this dish too because it was delicious and did not have those "pork smell".
Fish maw with seafood:
Tasted like shark fin. Not bad.
Fried dou miao:
My favourite vegetable. Tasted fresh and good. Was finished in a short time =P
Food are always associated with places, like when you think of Laksa, Katong laksa instantly comes into mind. And there are also instances when you passed by a particular place, say Maxwell food centre, i dare say people will remember Tian Tian chicken rice as one of the stalls to go to.
Let’s shift our focus to Tiong Bahru, there are quite a lot of food that can triggered your fond memories, like the Tiong Bahru Lor mee, roast meat, bao, chicken rice and a few others. For some food like Nasi Lemak, you can probably named a few good ones like the Adam road and Punggol ones. But how about Chwee Kueh? When you think of Chwee Kueh, Tiong Bahru immediately comes into mind. This only goes to show how good the Tiong Bahu Chwee Kueh is!
Since Tiong Bahru is synonymous with Chwee Kueh, a few other stalls have since then come up and claimed that they are the original Tiong Bahru Chwee Kueh, so who really is the original stall that sells this humble, yet delicious Kueh? For me, there can only be one stall, and that is Jian Bo Shui Kueh.
Jian Bo has been around for as long as I can remember, saying that I have grown up eating their Shui Kueh is not exaggerating. They have been in operations for 50 years already, thats like older than Singapore? Anyway, i dare say the other competitors that uses the “original Tiong Bahru Chwee Kueh” are not as good as them. Even if they are, i also refused to acknowledge it, I’m bias, and Jian Bo Shui Kueh does have sentimental values to me.
The tasty fried chye poh, so good yet so sinful, but at the same time that you can’t help youself saying, “Aunti, 4 Shui Kueh add extra chye poh please!“
The original, one and only Shui Kueh (4 for $1) You ain’t seeing wrongly, 4 delightful Shui Kueh for one dollar. Judging by their good business, I reckon they must have sell at least thousands of Shui Kueh everyday. Otherwise how else do you maintain the rental and expenses just by selling Shui Kueh, and not least 50 years!
Jian Bo Shui Kueh has got a very smooth texture for the cake, add some savoury chye poh and you are done! For the health conscious, maybe you can have less of the chye poh, but the shui kueh still taste just as nice.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
You remember when you were a kid, you told your mother “Ma, ma, i dreamt of a pig which was black in colour!”, and your mother chided you for telling ties, since pig is always pinkish in colour, and you shouldn’t spot the colour wrong since pigs in fairy tales and cartoons are always pink. Well, it won’t be a problem next time when you visit Tampopo and tell your mother that the pig there is really black!
Tampopo’s famous for their black pig, or Kurobuta, which is known to rear in Kagoshima prefecture. Kurobuta is to the pig, like what wagyu is to the beef. They are supposed to be stress-free, making the meat more tender and superior to the other form of pork.
Tampopo recently shifted to its new premise on the ground floor on Liang court, a far cry from the old one at the basement within Mei-di-ya supermarket. The new restaurant boost seating capacity of more than 80 (my rough estimates). The use of wooden bamboo forms a good contrast to the contemporary decorations, and the conveyor belt completes the interior.
I had made a reservation for 4 people after doing some research online as people mentioned that they always got a long queue, especially so during meal times. True to the comments, there was a surging line outside Tampopo when we got there at 7.30pm.
The conveyor belt within Tampop isn’t what you see in Japanese chains like Sakae sushi, the one here is special because it can automatically deliver food from the kitchen to your table. And you can’t “pick up” the food on the conveyer belt since the plates are programmed by magnetic fields, which are designated to deliver to the particular tables.
But from what i understands, the conveyor belt is still a experiment in progress, and not all of the dishes can be delivered using the belt, only particular items like sushi and some other smaller dishes can go through the belt for now.
Gyoza ($5.80) We started off with Gyoza, the Japanese version of our Chinese dumplings or “jiaozi“. The notable difference between the Japanese style Gyoza and the Chinese style “jiaozi” are the rich garlic flavors in the Japanese rendition, and Gyoza is served with soy-based dipping sauce. I’m not too sure whether its just me, but I found that the Japanese version had a thicker skin compared to the chinese style.
The gyoza here was slightly “charred” on the outside, but below the skin, the mixture of minced pork and garlic was very balanced. A good appetizer to share around and start your meal.
Normal grade loin cutlet ($21.80) I had the normal grade loin cutlet with rice set only because their top grade loin was sold out! I was actually quite frustrated because i had came with the sole purpose of trying their signature top grade loin, and how could a restaurant sold out so quickly by 7.30pm on a Saturday dinner!
Nevertheless, i must say that their normal grade was already very good. Pork cutlet in the hands of less skillful chef would be ruin by over-fried and too oily and dry, but the one here was done just right, the breaded crust was light and had a melt-in-your-mouth effect, and under the crispy exterior was juicy, tender meat.
I’ll say Tampopo’s pork loin is on par with the one that i had at Tetsu, although the one here was smaller and leaner. Tetsu definitely had a more generous cut of the pork loin. But the one that i had here was only the normal grade and i hate to think what will Tampopo’s top grade pork loin be like.
Omelette rice ($10) The omelette rice was done very nicely, with Japanese pearl rice wrapped within the soft and thick layer of omelette to good effect. As you all know, Japanese pearl rice is very different from the Thai rice very commonly used in Singapore. The pearl rice has a soft and moist texture, which is very light on the palate. Although there’s nothing spectacular with the omelette rice, it’s a simple dish which you couldn’t find fault with.
Pork loin Yanagawa ($16) We also had the pork loin Yanagawa a la carte, add $4.80 to get a set with rice, miso soup and fruits. I think i’ll prefer my pork loin cutlet to this. The pork loin Yanagawa was literally wet with the egg mixtures, i thought pork cutlet would be nicer dry and crispy than wet and soggy.
Unagi Yanakawa ($12.80) The reason why my friend chose the Unagi Yanakawa was because she wanted unagi, and within budget. This was the cheapest option for Unagi in the menu. I didn’t mind unagi, but i’m not really a fan of Yanakawa-style.
Unagi and tempura box ($18.80) The set came with unagi, prawn tempura, tamago, fruits, and miso soup. Nonetheless, I must say it’s rather value given there’s unagi and tempura. Serving size is certainly not comparable to the one we had at Kyomomoyama, but this one was part of a set, and cheaper too.
The tempura was lightly battered and the prawn was decent in size. However my friend found it to be too oily for her liking, and i nearly fainted when she mentioned that Waraku got better ones. Not that i disliked Waraku, but i just don’t think Waraku is that good, price is reasonable, but food-wise average.
Total bill was $102.65 for 4 people. I do not think that prices at Tampopo are expensive, in fact they are actually quite reasonable, in the range of high tens, to twenty for per person. If you visit Tampopo, their Kurobuta pork loin is certainly one dish you must try.
I wanted dessert but the rest were too full, within Tampopo there was limited choice for desserts, but if you would just head to the basement to Tampopo Deli, a standalone shop for their chiffon cakes and other desserts. Tampopo is actually famous for their ramen, while their sister restaurant Tomton at Central focus on kurobuta pork. I’ll definitely go Tampopo Deli for their chiffon cakes, and Tomton for the top-grade pork loin next time!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Mellben Seafood needs no further introduction in the local scene. Renowned for their claypot crab bee hoon, many food lovers have braved rain and storm to queue up in its heartlands outlet, all just for their crabs. The first Mellben Seafood has been around at Ang Mo Kio for several years now, and it’s until last year where they open this one at Toa Payoh, and i recently also heard that they have a third branch at Pasir Ris.
Prawn paste chicken ($10) The prawn paste chicken or “har cheong kai” is always a dish on our list to order when my family had zi-char. Personally i’ll prefer sweet sour pork to this anytime, but my brother is a fan of chicken. The chicken came pipping hot and the fermented puréed shrimp taste was very evident in the crispy skin. But at $10, the price is slightly higher, as most zi-char stalls offer this dish at $8.
Fried sambal Kangkong ($10) We also seem to have the habit of ordering sambal kangkong. Mellben’s rendition was truly hot and spicy. Again at $10 for a vegetable dish, it was priced higher than the usual $6-8 repertoire.
Chili Crab ($41.80) While patrons to Mellben always order their signature claypot crab bee hoon, we decided to buck the trend and had the chili crab ($38 per kg) instead. Our decision was vindicated, the chili crab proved itself no less than the more popular claypot crab bee hoon counterpart. The thick chili gravy was spicy and slightly sweet, and i particularly enjoyed the eggy taste.
My family’s always has a soft spot for crabs, not me though, i’m too lazy to eat crab. But when i do eat crab, i always take the big pincher, because they are by far the easiest to eat and with the most meat. One bite settles everything, all the fleshy meat into my stomach!`
i’m a sucker for those fried mantou that always come together with the chili crab. Some people will like to drench the whole bun into the chili gravy, but for me i always like to poke a hole in the middle of the bun. After which i’ll put some thick spicy eggy gravy into the middle and let it flow inside. And after the first wonderful bite, i’ll then dipped the remaining bun to get the maximum soak of chili gravy. Heavenly!
Total Bill was $71.50 for 4 people. This is actually quite reasonable for 4 people, but if you examine closely, the price range of the food at Mellben is substaintially higher than the normal zi-char store. This is partly due to the popularity of Mellben, and they are able to commend a slight premium over the rest. The chili crab was excellent, and we will be looking to try the rest of the crab-mates next time.
One thing to note about Mellben though, the two branch at Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh are both not within walking distance from the MRT station, which means to say you will need to take a feeder bus in from the interchange which can be quite a chore. Nevertheless, they are selling out the crabs every night, this tells you something about them!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
I felt honoured to be invited for this food tasting in this restaurant which is actually near to my workplace.
I heard that their main business is their variety of sauces, and this restaurant is to showcase their sauces.
The restaurant's decor itself was quite simple and elegant looking. The dishes were also delicious. We ate those recommended dishes thus they should be the best in this restaurant.
Popiah DIY $20 /set
Completely healthy with stewed vegetables in prawn stock and condiments. Had a bit of fun wrapping my own popiah and it tasted good...especially with their sauces.
Chilled Crab with Special Vinegrette Sauce @ $30 /crab Really enjoyed the crabs alot with or without the sauce because they tasted very fresh and they were in quite big pieces...yum...Furthermore, they had been cut well enough for us to eat the crab meats at ease.
The Phoenix Soars @ $21
Yin-Yang boneless Village Wok Chicken The chicken wasn't bad too. Nothing much to comment.
Village Wok Celebration Parade @ $22
A combination of VW award dishes, VW Mustard Roast Crispy Pork and Village BBQ Pork The BBQ pork was not coloured like those normal ones sold outside. Nevertheless, they tasted quite nice when accompanied with the sauces.
Fried Brinjal with Crispy Squid in BXO Sauce @ $15 Aaah~~this was my favourite dish! Ate alot of it and the brinjal pieces tasted really delicious and sweet as they were like emersed with the BXO sauce...They didn't have the strong vegetable taste.
Steamed Pating Fish with Preserved Vegetable @ $44 The preserved vegetable "cai por" was nice but as a matter of fact, I don't like fish. -.-||
Black Pepper Ham Leg @ $23 Voted The Travelling Gourmet’s favorite dish Really big pieces! The skin was crispy and it should had been crispier if we had eaten them earlier. Not bad but I'm not a pork lover. Still had that strong pork taste which I didn't fancy much.
Smiling Fortune Noodle @ $8 (potion served was smaller that day)
Tangy noodles harmonized with delectable fresh prawn essence, topped with prawns. Oh this was nice! The soup was nice especially with chilli powder! I finished drinking the soup!
VW Desserts - Sampler size
Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut Ice-cream @ $4.80
Lemongrass ice-cream
Kaya with bread I can say that the desserts were all satisfactory and I was especially attracted to the lemongrass icecream. It tasted really unique and I didn't feel sick eating it though I was terribly full already. I wanted more in fact. The kaya also tasted good and it was fragrant...It was sweet but not overly sweet. Just nice!
1=SGD 0.0587
Tiong Bahru Market is often associated with good food, and stalls obviously want to put in “Tiong Bahru” into their stall names for two reasons; first they are really the original stalls from the old Tiong Bahru, or they probably added in to give the impression that they are “old name” when they are actually not.
What’s the difference between curry noodle and laksa? Actually I’m not quite sure myself too, but i guess the obvious differences are their ingredients, curry noodles has chicken, potatoes which are not found in laksa.
Curry Noodle ($3)
The curry noodle was decent, with a rather generous serving of shreded chicken, tau pok, and potatoes. But it still can’t beat the famous one at Hong Lim food centre though. Besides curry chicken noodle, they also got quite a variety of other chicken dishes like lemon chicken rice and curry chicken feet.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
I have been looking for nice kway chap for a while now, but I can’t seem to find them though.My latest hunt brought me to Tiong Bahru Market, a quick glance around resulted in two stores selling kway chap, and i chose this store over the other because this store had a slightly longer queue than the other on that day.
On a personal note, I felt that kway chap stalls does not usually have a standard rate, the charges are to their discretion and can differ on a rather wide range. I’m not saying all kuay chap stalls do that, but obviously there will be some rouge stalls around.
The kway (rice noodle sheet) was a tad too thick for my liking, and i found the soup average.
Kway Chap ($4 for one person serving)
For a person serving at $4, there’s one whole egg, taupok, and pig intestines. Even though the portion should suffice for a person, but i found the variety rather miserable, there’s no pork belly, no small intestines, no duck meat no beancurd, you know the usual stuff for kway chap.
Of course there is, but you just have to pay more for more variety. That’s why i say $4 can’t really get you much for kway chap. Nevertheless they did a passable kway chap, but there isn’t the “oomph” factor to make me try them again. Probably will test out the other kway chap stall in Tiong Bahru Market the next time round.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) is the first museum in the region to present a broad yet integrated perspective of pan-Asian cultures and civilisations. The Museum's collection centres on the material cultures of the different groups originating from China, Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia.
I was privileged to have been able to join a guided tour by one of the curators at ACM. If you're planning a visit to the museum, I strongly recommend to join the guided tours by the volunteers.
The visit to the museum had been quite an experience for me. Before the tour, I thought museums are rather boring. But when I participated in the tour and had a better understanding of the history and stories behind the things around the museum, it was quite a discovery adventure.
If you've never been into the Asian Civilisations Museum before, why not spend a day there exploring? If you would like to really absorb all the content there, I would suggest you split your visits to a few trips. If not, you might just get too tired after exploring and absorbing just one section of the museum. As the curator suggested, don't go to the museum and wants to see everything there in one visit. One should find a focus for that day and just spend enough time to complete touring that section for that day.
Oh by the way, if you are unable to join the guided tours, there's always the self-guided tour guides around the museum to help you. There are many computer guides around where they can share the interesting things within their section.
Attached is a video compilation of few things I saw at ACM. And find out about a cute and interesting cup and listen to the curator share why the cup is interesting! :)
You can also read more about the interesting finds I saw during my tour around the museum at my blog.
Rating given:
Fig and Olive is one of the few halal certified restaurant in Singapore. This place is nicely renovated and clean. A nice place for gatherings and events.
I went there twice, once for a meal and the other for an event. The food I had on my first trip was not that good except for the fries...
Marinara Pasta @ $15.90
Not one of the better but still passable pasta. The sauce was served a little dry and the seafood tasted dry too.
Criss-cut fries was fried right and tasted crispy. The serving was quite big and I recommend to share it with few other friends. Unless you're having it on your own.
Food for the event was better than my first meal there. The variety was good and the overall taste and flavor was much better.
I may return to give them another chance since the two visits gave quite a big difference in quality.
Anyone else tried the place? What's your thoughts?
Rating given:
Wasn't easy to find this shop. This shop was hidden in an "ulu" lane near Bugis and I was hot and sweaty all over when I reached the shop.
The interior of this shop was beautiful and unique. I enjoyed browsing at the things sold inside.
There was beautiful shoes, bags, and some accessories inside which were quite cute.
Price was not cheap....
I did not manage to buy the shoes I wanted because even the largest size was too small for me. I think it was the cutting. Too bad. Would be good if they had bigger sizes.
Not really keen to go back again because of it's location...
Rating given:
Had a dinner there with my family and we all enjoyed the meal very much.
It was crowded that evening but the waiters and waitresses were all very very polite. The service was excellent.
The hot chinese tea served was nice, and all dishes were quite delicious as well. Price was reasonable for a restaurant like this.
Herbal roast duck:
Fragrant and tender meat. Tasty.
'Dong Po' pork:
My father liked it alot. I am not a fan of pork but I liked this dish too because it was delicious and did not have those "pork smell".
Fish maw with seafood:
Tasted like shark fin. Not bad.
Fried dou miao:
My favourite vegetable. Tasted fresh and good. Was finished in a short time =P
Prawn ball with mayo sauce:
Nice! Not too oily.
Will update with photos soon.
Rating given:
Food are always associated with places, like when you think of Laksa, Katong laksa instantly comes into mind. And there are also instances when you passed by a particular place, say Maxwell food centre, i dare say people will remember Tian Tian chicken rice as one of the stalls to go to.
Let’s shift our focus to Tiong Bahru, there are quite a lot of food that can triggered your fond memories, like the Tiong Bahru Lor mee, roast meat, bao, chicken rice and a few others. For some food like Nasi Lemak, you can probably named a few good ones like the Adam road and Punggol ones. But how about Chwee Kueh? When you think of Chwee Kueh, Tiong Bahru immediately comes into mind. This only goes to show how good the Tiong Bahu Chwee Kueh is!
Since Tiong Bahru is synonymous with Chwee Kueh, a few other stalls have since then come up and claimed that they are the original Tiong Bahru Chwee Kueh, so who really is the original stall that sells this humble, yet delicious Kueh? For me, there can only be one stall, and that is Jian Bo Shui Kueh.
Jian Bo has been around for as long as I can remember, saying that I have grown up eating their Shui Kueh is not exaggerating. They have been in operations for 50 years already, thats like older than Singapore? Anyway, i dare say the other competitors that uses the “original Tiong Bahru Chwee Kueh” are not as good as them. Even if they are, i also refused to acknowledge it, I’m bias, and Jian Bo Shui Kueh does have sentimental values to me.
The tasty fried chye poh, so good yet so sinful, but at the same time that you can’t help youself saying, “Aunti, 4 Shui Kueh add extra chye poh please!“
The original, one and only Shui Kueh (4 for $1)
You ain’t seeing wrongly, 4 delightful Shui Kueh for one dollar. Judging by their good business, I reckon they must have sell at least thousands of Shui Kueh everyday. Otherwise how else do you maintain the rental and expenses just by selling Shui Kueh, and not least 50 years!
Jian Bo Shui Kueh has got a very smooth texture for the cake, add some savoury chye poh and you are done! For the health conscious, maybe you can have less of the chye poh, but the shui kueh still taste just as nice.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
You remember when you were a kid, you told your mother “Ma, ma, i dreamt of a pig which was black in colour!”, and your mother chided you for telling ties, since pig is always pinkish in colour, and you shouldn’t spot the colour wrong since pigs in fairy tales and cartoons are always pink. Well, it won’t be a problem next time when you visit Tampopo and tell your mother that the pig there is really black!
Tampopo’s famous for their black pig, or Kurobuta, which is known to rear in Kagoshima prefecture. Kurobuta is to the pig, like what wagyu is to the beef. They are supposed to be stress-free, making the meat more tender and superior to the other form of pork.
Tampopo recently shifted to its new premise on the ground floor on Liang court, a far cry from the old one at the basement within Mei-di-ya supermarket. The new restaurant boost seating capacity of more than 80 (my rough estimates). The use of wooden bamboo forms a good contrast to the contemporary decorations, and the conveyor belt completes the interior.
I had made a reservation for 4 people after doing some research online as people mentioned that they always got a long queue, especially so during meal times. True to the comments, there was a surging line outside Tampopo when we got there at 7.30pm.
The conveyor belt within Tampop isn’t what you see in Japanese chains like Sakae sushi, the one here is special because it can automatically deliver food from the kitchen to your table. And you can’t “pick up” the food on the conveyer belt since the plates are programmed by magnetic fields, which are designated to deliver to the particular tables.
But from what i understands, the conveyor belt is still a experiment in progress, and not all of the dishes can be delivered using the belt, only particular items like sushi and some other smaller dishes can go through the belt for now.
Gyoza ($5.80)
We started off with Gyoza, the Japanese version of our Chinese dumplings or “jiaozi“. The notable difference between the Japanese style Gyoza and the Chinese style “jiaozi” are the rich garlic flavors in the Japanese rendition, and Gyoza is served with soy-based dipping sauce. I’m not too sure whether its just me, but I found that the Japanese version had a thicker skin compared to the chinese style.
The gyoza here was slightly “charred” on the outside, but below the skin, the mixture of minced pork and garlic was very balanced. A good appetizer to share around and start your meal.
Normal grade loin cutlet ($21.80)
I had the normal grade loin cutlet with rice set only because their top grade loin was sold out! I was actually quite frustrated because i had came with the sole purpose of trying their signature top grade loin, and how could a restaurant sold out so quickly by 7.30pm on a Saturday dinner!
Nevertheless, i must say that their normal grade was already very good. Pork cutlet in the hands of less skillful chef would be ruin by over-fried and too oily and dry, but the one here was done just right, the breaded crust was light and had a melt-in-your-mouth effect, and under the crispy exterior was juicy, tender meat.
I’ll say Tampopo’s pork loin is on par with the one that i had at Tetsu, although the one here was smaller and leaner. Tetsu definitely had a more generous cut of the pork loin. But the one that i had here was only the normal grade and i hate to think what will Tampopo’s top grade pork loin be like.
Omelette rice ($10)
The omelette rice was done very nicely, with Japanese pearl rice wrapped within the soft and thick layer of omelette to good effect. As you all know, Japanese pearl rice is very different from the Thai rice very commonly used in Singapore. The pearl rice has a soft and moist texture, which is very light on the palate. Although there’s nothing spectacular with the omelette rice, it’s a simple dish which you couldn’t find fault with.
Pork loin Yanagawa ($16)
We also had the pork loin Yanagawa a la carte, add $4.80 to get a set with rice, miso soup and fruits. I think i’ll prefer my pork loin cutlet to this. The pork loin Yanagawa was literally wet with the egg mixtures, i thought pork cutlet would be nicer dry and crispy than wet and soggy.
Unagi Yanakawa ($12.80)
The reason why my friend chose the Unagi Yanakawa was because she wanted unagi, and within budget. This was the cheapest option for Unagi in the menu. I didn’t mind unagi, but i’m not really a fan of Yanakawa-style.
Unagi and tempura box ($18.80)
The set came with unagi, prawn tempura, tamago, fruits, and miso soup. Nonetheless, I must say it’s rather value given there’s unagi and tempura. Serving size is certainly not comparable to the one we had at Kyomomoyama, but this one was part of a set, and cheaper too.
The tempura was lightly battered and the prawn was decent in size. However my friend found it to be too oily for her liking, and i nearly fainted when she mentioned that Waraku got better ones. Not that i disliked Waraku, but i just don’t think Waraku is that good, price is reasonable, but food-wise average.
Total bill was $102.65 for 4 people. I do not think that prices at Tampopo are expensive, in fact they are actually quite reasonable, in the range of high tens, to twenty for per person. If you visit Tampopo, their Kurobuta pork loin is certainly one dish you must try.
I wanted dessert but the rest were too full, within Tampopo there was limited choice for desserts, but if you would just head to the basement to Tampopo Deli, a standalone shop for their chiffon cakes and other desserts. Tampopo is actually famous for their ramen, while their sister restaurant Tomton at Central focus on kurobuta pork. I’ll definitely go Tampopo Deli for their chiffon cakes, and Tomton for the top-grade pork loin next time!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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Mellben Seafood needs no further introduction in the local scene. Renowned for their claypot crab bee hoon, many food lovers have braved rain and storm to queue up in its heartlands outlet, all just for their crabs. The first Mellben Seafood has been around at Ang Mo Kio for several years now, and it’s until last year where they open this one at Toa Payoh, and i recently also heard that they have a third branch at Pasir Ris.
Prawn paste chicken ($10)
The prawn paste chicken or “har cheong kai” is always a dish on our list to order when my family had zi-char. Personally i’ll prefer sweet sour pork to this anytime, but my brother is a fan of chicken. The chicken came pipping hot and the fermented puréed shrimp taste was very evident in the crispy skin. But at $10, the price is slightly higher, as most zi-char stalls offer this dish at $8.
Fried sambal Kangkong ($10)
We also seem to have the habit of ordering sambal kangkong. Mellben’s rendition was truly hot and spicy. Again at $10 for a vegetable dish, it was priced higher than the usual $6-8 repertoire.
Chili Crab ($41.80)
While patrons to Mellben always order their signature claypot crab bee hoon, we decided to buck the trend and had the chili crab ($38 per kg) instead. Our decision was vindicated, the chili crab proved itself no less than the more popular claypot crab bee hoon counterpart. The thick chili gravy was spicy and slightly sweet, and i particularly enjoyed the eggy taste.
My family’s always has a soft spot for crabs, not me though, i’m too lazy to eat crab. But when i do eat crab, i always take the big pincher, because they are by far the easiest to eat and with the most meat. One bite settles everything, all the fleshy meat into my stomach!`
i’m a sucker for those fried mantou that always come together with the chili crab. Some people will like to drench the whole bun into the chili gravy, but for me i always like to poke a hole in the middle of the bun. After which i’ll put some thick spicy eggy gravy into the middle and let it flow inside. And after the first wonderful bite, i’ll then dipped the remaining bun to get the maximum soak of chili gravy. Heavenly!
Total Bill was $71.50 for 4 people. This is actually quite reasonable for 4 people, but if you examine closely, the price range of the food at Mellben is substaintially higher than the normal zi-char store. This is partly due to the popularity of Mellben, and they are able to commend a slight premium over the rest. The chili crab was excellent, and we will be looking to try the rest of the crab-mates next time.
One thing to note about Mellben though, the two branch at Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh are both not within walking distance from the MRT station, which means to say you will need to take a feeder bus in from the interchange which can be quite a chore. Nevertheless, they are selling out the crabs every night, this tells you something about them!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
I felt honoured to be invited for this food tasting in this restaurant which is actually near to my workplace.
I heard that their main business is their variety of sauces, and this restaurant is to showcase their sauces.
The restaurant's decor itself was quite simple and elegant looking. The dishes were also delicious. We ate those recommended dishes thus they should be the best in this restaurant.
Popiah DIY $20 /set
Completely healthy with stewed vegetables in prawn stock and condiments.
Had a bit of fun wrapping my own popiah and it tasted good...especially with their sauces.
Chilled Crab with Special Vinegrette Sauce @ $30 /crab
Really enjoyed the crabs alot with or without the sauce because they tasted very fresh and they were in quite big pieces...yum...Furthermore, they had been cut well enough for us to eat the crab meats at ease.
The Phoenix Soars @ $21
Yin-Yang boneless Village Wok Chicken
The chicken wasn't bad too. Nothing much to comment.
Village Wok Celebration Parade @ $22
A combination of VW award dishes, VW Mustard Roast Crispy Pork and Village BBQ Pork
The BBQ pork was not coloured like those normal ones sold outside. Nevertheless, they tasted quite nice when accompanied with the sauces.
Fried Brinjal with Crispy Squid in BXO Sauce @ $15
Aaah~~this was my favourite dish! Ate alot of it and the brinjal pieces tasted really delicious and sweet as they were like emersed with the BXO sauce...They didn't have the strong vegetable taste.
Steamed Pating Fish with Preserved Vegetable @ $44
The preserved vegetable "cai por" was nice but as a matter of fact, I don't like fish. -.-||
Black Pepper Ham Leg @ $23
Voted The Travelling Gourmet’s favorite dish
Really big pieces! The skin was crispy and it should had been crispier if we had eaten them earlier. Not bad but I'm not a pork lover. Still had that strong pork taste which I didn't fancy much.
Smiling Fortune Noodle @ $8 (potion served was smaller that day)
Tangy noodles harmonized with delectable fresh prawn essence, topped with prawns.
Oh this was nice! The soup was nice especially with chilli powder! I finished drinking the soup!
VW Desserts - Sampler size
Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut Ice-cream @ $4.80
Lemongrass ice-cream
Kaya with bread
I can say that the desserts were all satisfactory and I was especially attracted to the lemongrass icecream. It tasted really unique and I didn't feel sick eating it though I was terribly full already. I wanted more in fact. The kaya also tasted good and it was fragrant...It was sweet but not overly sweet. Just nice!
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